It is also encouraging that, with the exception of a few brief interruptions in 2004 and 2008 attributed to the tsunami and political disturbances, there has been a steady rise in the annual average income from ecotourism. Ecotourism has played a significant role in improving the island economy in general and the household economies of local people in particular. Notably, 53% of the annual income of the lowest income group (, 50,000 baht) derives from activities directly related to ecotourism-related activities. These people would have been in a worse situation without this income. Interestingly, ecotourism plays an even more important role in the case of households with an annual average income above 50,000 baht, with more than 80% of the annual average income of households with an income of more than 100,000 baht coming from ecotourism.